El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). <em>Black Block</em>, 2010. Aluminum and copper wire, two pieces, each: 207 x 133 1/2 in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange, 2013.7a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2013_Anatsui_Gravity_and_Grace_032_PS4_2013.7a-b.jpg)

El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). Black Block, 2010. Aluminum and copper wire, two pieces, each: 207 x 133 1/2 in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange, 2013.7a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2013_Anatsui_Gravity_and_Grace_032_PS4_2013.7a-b.jpg)

El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). Black Block, 2010. Aluminum and copper wire, two pieces, each: 207 x 133 1/2 in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange, 2013.7a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Courtesy of the artists gallery, CUR.2013.7a-b_gallery_photo.jpg)

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Yeah, I can see that. I was a little confused by the El Anatsui in terms of how to understand it.

El Anatsui's work is pretty complex. It’s not recycling that interests him. It’s the idea that an item was touched by another human being, he says, "because then it comes with not only energy, but history and it has a story." He collects bottle caps that were discarded by people to make the wall sculptures. He has 30 assistants that help in making it.

He believes there is a human residue left on every day items. He cites the work of spiritual healers in Africa: "Say somebody wants to have the love of another person. The healer you are consulting might ask you to bring something that a fellow has used and with that he’ll be able to make a connection," so things that humans have used have a spiritual energy in them.

What is this?

El Anatsui's practice is centered around items that have been thrown away. It’s not recycling that interests him, it’s the idea that an item was touched by another human being.

Here he used discarded screw-top caps from thousands of bottles. He flattens and stretches the caps. Sometimes he uses the ring left on the bottle after the cap is twisted off. He wire stitches thousands of the mutated caps together into massive wall tapestries.

Does the work always look like this?

One of the many interesting things about El Anatsui's work is that he doesn't dictate how any of his works should be displayed. He allows the curators and art handlers to make choices about where the work should be folded, tucked and laid flat. The artist has said "The whole idea is that I want to involve whoever is dealing with the artwork to also bring in a bit of him- or herself, to incorporate the way he or she is feeling."

What is this?

That's a large installation by Ghanaian Artist El Anatsui. Made up of flattened caps from thousands of bottles. El Anatsui hires and trains local craftsman to assist him with flattening and stitching the caps together. One of the many interesting things about El Anatsui's work is that he doesn't dictate how any of his works should be displayed. He allows the curators and art handlers to make choices about where the work should be folded, tucked and laid flat.

The exhibition it is placed in, "I See Myself in You," is all about understanding the body and portraiture as you may have read in the introductory text. Any ideas why this work might be considered bodily? Or dealing with portraits?

It seems rather organic, like a skeleton.

I can totally see that. I think about where he found that many discarded liquor bottle tops and what type of person would drink and then discard a bottle outside.

Okay, that makes sense.

How long did this take to make?

While we don't know the exact number of man-hours put into this amazing El Anatsui work, I can tell you he hires and trains local craftsmen to assist with his projects. The work is made of aluminum and copper wire on which discarded bottle caps are then strung. I imagine it would take many people and many hours to create a finished project.

Black Block

El Anatsui

Contemporary Art

Close inspection of El Anatsui’s glistening and cascading work reveals an elaborate surface constructed from liquor bottle tops joined together by copper wire. Anatsui incorporates these discarded aluminum caps, sourced from a liquor distillery in Nigeria, into the global history of abstraction. The monumental and unfixed form references both individual and collective bodies—from the lips that might grace the alcohol bottle to the hands of now-hundreds of studio assistants who work together to manipulate and weave the metal caps.

ARTIST El Anatsui, Ghanaian, born 1944

MEDIUM Aluminum and copper wire

DATES 2010

DIMENSIONS two pieces, each: 207 x 133 1/2 in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2013.7a-b

CREDIT LINE Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). Black Block, 2010. Aluminum and copper wire, two pieces, each: 207 x 133 1/2 in., 67 lb. (525.8 x 339.1 cm, 30.39kg). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., by exchange, 2013.7a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, DIG_E_2013_Anatsui_Gravity_and_Grace_032_PS4_2013.7a-b.jpg)

IMAGE installation, DIG_E_2013_Anatsui_Gravity_and_Grace_032_PS4_2013.7a-b.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2013

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

The Brooklyn Museum holds a non-exclusive license to reproduce images of this work of art from the rights holder named here. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org. If you wish to contact the rights holder for this work, please email copyright@brooklynmuseum.org and we will assist if we can.

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Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Yeah, I can see that. I was a little confused by the El Anatsui in terms of how to understand it.

What is this?

El Anatsui's practice is centered around items that have been thrown away. It’s not recycling that interests him, it’s the idea that an item was touched by another human being.

Does the work always look like this?

What is this?

It seems rather organic, like a skeleton.

I can totally see that. I think about where he found that many discarded liquor bottle tops and what type of person would drink and then discard a bottle outside.

Okay, that makes sense.

How long did this take to make?

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Black Block

El Anatsui

Contemporary Art

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